


We're Stronger Together Than Apart

by goldendrabbles



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Infinity War never happened, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Sweet T'Challa (Marvel), T'Challa Has Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-14 19:25:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17514515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldendrabbles/pseuds/goldendrabbles
Summary: After Erik’s claim to the throne and death, Wakanda was still on the road to recovery. Sure, all of the physical damage had been repaired, but the people of the nation were restless and despite the collaboration on the battlefield- tensions were growing between the Jabari and the other tribes.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy reading this! Let me know what you think. (:  
> Wam kumkani- My king.

After Erik’s claim to the throne and death, Wakanda was still on the road to recovery. Sure, all of the physical damage had been repaired, but the people of the nation were restless and despite the collaboration on the battlefield- tensions were growing between the Jabari and the other tribes.

This has been brought up in the regular Tribal Council meetings and the tribe leaders looked to their king for answers. However, T’Challa wasn’t officially king yet, though he had the strength of the Heart-Shaped Herb. With everything that had taken place, they hadn’t had time to bring the kingdom together in order to have another coronation. Though much of Wakanda still considered him their king, restoring the country was more of a priority than having the official title.

“Wam kumkani, it’s becoming harder to keep the River Tribe and the Jabari from quarrelling since they share waters and it’s becoming violent.” Spoke the River Tribe Elder.  
T’Challa took a deep breath. He was very much aware of this, but was struggling to find a solution. He had tried on multiple occasions to contact the Jabari’s leader, M’Baku, but hadn’t received a response. At this point he was convinced the large man wasn’t even reading his letters.

“The people are becoming concerned, T’Challa, they are worried another attack could take place. What if M’Baku suddenly decides he wants the throne? Then what? Just because he aided in us in the final battle against N’Jadaka doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an ulterior motive. For all we know, he could be planning another attack.” Queen Ramonda affirmed, her hands resting in her lap.

“M’Baku has ignored all of my attempts to discuss this and even turned down a seat at this here council. I completely understand your frustrations, but he refuses to engage in conversation.” T’Challa clarified with a sigh, rubbing his face with his hands. M’Baku had managed to slip back to the Jabari Land before T’Challa had even had the chance to thank him. The king sent an invitation to the country’s service to commemorate the lost lives, but of course, received no response.

He was awfully tired, he had spent the last couple weeks being actively engaged with the efforts of repairing the country and trying to earn the trust of his people back. “I will simply just have to show up, that may be the only way to get M’Baku to listen. I will visit in exactly one week and alert the Jabari of my visit two nights before. I will bring a few Dora with me, but that is all.” He stated, leaning back in his chair. He knew it was a risk to just turn up at M’Baku’s doorstep, but he simply wanted peace between their people, Wakanda had seen enough destruction and the increasing tensions and one sided conversations between the two leaders weren’t benefiting anyone.

“Wam kumkani, this could be dangerous… I know you want unity, but you cannot be completely protected if you are up there. We can all agree that the Jabari aren’t exactly civilised in that manner.” The Mining Tribe’s Elder commented, earning hums of agreement from the others.

“I will be fine, the Dora and the strength of the Heart-Shaped Herb will protect me, and I can have Shuri adapt my kimoyo beads so I will be able to keep in contact with the palace.” T’Challa assured, his hands smoothing over his thighs. “This is for Wakanda, we cannot afford another war, not one stemming from this very own country.” He reasoned, his expression holding slight desperation.

Queen Ramonda spoke up, “We will call a vote as is tradition. Those who approve of T’Challa’s summit to the Jabari Land, raise your hand.” Seconds later, T’Challa saw that three of the five other members had voted in favour and he sighed quietly in relief.

“Thank you. I understand why you two didn’t vote in favour,” He looked at the Merchant Tribe Elder and his mother, “But I assure you, the summit will be a success.” And with that, the meeting was adjourned.

-

The day of the summit arrived faster than T’Challa would’ve liked and he was in Shuri’s lab awaiting his kimoyo beads.  
“Brother, are you sure this is the right move? M’Baku clearly doesn’t want anything to do with us, this could be disastrous. I would disguise a ship and have it blend with the mountains, but since I know so little about Jabari Wood, who isn’t to say it isn’t as powerful as vibranium.” Shuri questioned, running the final tests on T’Challa’s kimoyo beads to make sure everything was running efficiently and handing them to her brother when she was satisfied. “I mean, if you could get me a sample of that wood, that would be great.” She added with a cheeky grin.

“Yes, Shuri, I’m sure. If the man doesn’t want to reply to my endless letters, then I’m going to be even more of a nuisance and be right in front of him.” T’Challa snorted, he felt more relaxed with Shuri which helped since he felt uncharacteristically nervous. What if it did go wrong and this was exactly what M’Baku was hoping for so he could get the Panther King trapped? T’Challa shook the thoughts from his head. No, M’Baku wouldn’t do that, he had already showed that he cared about the rest of Wakanda- regardless of if he had some sort of ulterior motive like his mother had suggested. If T’Challa could at least convince M’Baku to consider attending the Tribal Council meetings, he’d consider that a victory.

“There is no way on Bast’s earth I’m doing that. He doesn’t even like me as a human being, I’m not going to take some of his precious wood.” T’Challa sniggered putting his kimoyo bracelet on. “Do you think I should take my Panther Habit?” He asked as his fingers grazed the silver teeth of the necklace around his neck. “I don’t want him to see it as a threat.”

  
“Hell no, you’re taking it. Mother would drag you back by your hair if you took a risk like that, she already opposes you going.” Shuri side-eyed her brother, looking at the entrance when she noticed Okoye who had been standing there for Bast knows how long.

“Wam kumkani, it’s time.” Okoye spoke when Shuri noticed her presence, she didn’t want to interrupt the two siblings until she was acknowledged.

“Thank you, Okoye.” T’Challa nodded, looking back at his sister and giving her a tight hug.

“Bast, T’Challa, don’t suffocate me, you are coming back y’know.” Shuri chuckled, lightly patting her brother’s back, dramatically taking a deep breath when he released her.

“I was not suffocating you, you over exaggerate.” T’Challa rolled his eyes playfully before taking a deep breath. “Alright, I am going now. I’ll see you later.” He nodded, following Okoye out of the lab and to the landing area. He hugged his mother goodbye and stepped onto the aircraft.

-

Due to the Wakanda technology, the journey took them no longer than seventeen minutes which was much shorter than anyone aboard the aircraft would’ve liked. The pilot found a flat surface close to the palace for them to land and T’Challa watched as the ship’s door opened, trying not to pay too much attention to how the Dora Milaje immediately flanked his sides. They exited and T’Challa really wished he had spoken to his tailor about making his and the Dora’s coats thicker, the weather was bitterly cold- to them at least.

They were greeted by Jabari warriors who immediately had their weapons pointed towards them which triggered the Dora to do the same with their spears, causing T’Challa to raise his hand for them to lower their weapons. “Please, I am here to speak to Lord M’Baku, I notified the Jabari of my coming two days prior to now.” T’Challa knew the warriors were aware of this visit, how could they not? “Please express my urgency to see him, I will not be sent away.” T’Challa refused the urge to fold his arms, that would make him seen rude ad standoffish. The warriors behind them quietly exchanged words and one of them walked away from the scene, presumably to inform the palace of their arrival. T’Challa wasn’t surprised, he didn’t expect them to receive a formal greeting, but Bast did he just want to get it over with.

Two minutes later, the Jabari warrior who had previously left, then returned and announced: “Follow me, Lord M’Baku has agreed to see you.” Following the Jabari warriors, he tried his hardest not to look at the scenery around him. Sure he had been to interesting places, but the fact that the Jabari Land was so close yet so out of reach made him even more curious about the culture. How much did it differ from mainland Wakanda?

Before he knew it, they were outside the door for the throne room which was comforting since T’Challa had been there been there a few months before when M’Baku had saved his life.  
“Lord M’Baku requests that you may bring only two of the six guards if you wish to enter the throne room.” The Jabari warrior spoke and T’Challa already knew Okoye wanted to gut the warrior for referring to her and her group of elite special forces as ‘guards’. The request made T’Challa mentally roll his eyes, M’Baku was just being theatrical now. If T’Challa really was going to attack him, he would’ve orchestrated it in a much more efficient way.

“Xoliswa and Ayo.” T’Challa decided and didn’t spare the warrior another glance when the door was opened. He straightened his already perfect posture and entered the throne room. M’Baku looked as he always did when he laid eyes on the Panther King: uninterested and crude.

“What brings you here, _little king_? Grew tired of filling my mailbox?” M’Baku taunted and it reminded T’Challa of just how aggravating he found the larger man. ‘Little king?’ How dare he. T’Challa wasn’t blind nor stupid, he knew he was smaller than the other man, but he found the comment truly belittling considering they both were very much aware of what T’Challa was capable of. He could’ve easily reminded M’Baku of how T’Challa could’ve ended the larger man’s life in ritual combat, but he held his tongue. He knew he was better than to stoop to that level, particularly when he needed to ask M’Baku of something that required M’Baku’s cooperation.

“Precisely, Lord M’Baku. I am here to formally and personally invite you to join the Tribal Council. I would’ve done so had you and your people not left the battlefield so soon. We value your input and want to build a better Wakanda. Together.” T’Challa responded politely.

“I had dead to bury after _your cousin_ killed them. I wasn’t going to wait around for more of my people’s honorary lives to be taken.” M’Baku said gruffly. Even the way he sat shouted arrogance, his thighs parted, head tilted down with that intimidating stare. It made T’Challa’s palms sweat.

“And for that my deepest condolences to the lives lost, but we need to be unified. We are all Wakandan. Living as separate states never benefitted either party and now more than ever, I truly believe that we’re stronger together than apart.” T’Challa was a true diplomat, he wasn’t going to let his personal indignation with M’Baku get in the way of achieving his goal.

“Tell me, T’Challa, do you ever grow tired of being so demanding towards me? First you demand I yield, then somehow in your unconscious state you demand that I keep you alive, and then thirdly, you demand I supply you with an army to help fight against your estranged cousin, and now you’re demanding I throw myself into the Tribal Council as though everything is just dandy.” M’Baku snorted, he was astounded. In his opinion, T’Challa really had some nerve to stand before M’Baku like this.

“Do you know how insulting that is? Aside from the first point, what have I gained except the king from down the hill believing he can command me to do his willing. As I said, you are the first king to come in here in centuries, yet you keep insisting on an ‘us’. There is no us. No, you cannot speak for other kings, but you wouldn’t be here if what you want didn’t affect your people. This is about the altercations between my fisherman and the green water tribe, yes?” He scoffed, his tone flippant, though he enjoyed the fact he had the apparently great Black Panther grovelling at his feet for his cooperation. Although he didn’t like the alternative view of how his refusal to cooperate made him seem childish and immature.

“Yes, it is. We share waters and ignoring each other just isn’t working out anymore, they need to be civil at least, we need to bring our people _together_. Lord M’Baku, please. Let’s not make this harder for each other. We can both agree that we need to come to some sort of agreement regarding the matter, I’m tired of going back and forth with you. We have all suffered enough.” T’Challa was growing impatient and M’Baku was just being insufferable.

M’Baku took a moment to think. T’Challa clearly wanted them to work together and the leader in M’Baku wanted to comply, he knew he also couldn’t sit by and allow his people be aggravated by the River Tribe, even if his people were in the wrong.

“When’s the next meeting?” M’Baku chided, sitting up a little straighter rather than slouching.

T’Challa had to resist the urge to sigh aloud in relief. Finally, M’Baku was listening. “It is exactly one week from now at one P.M. For convenience we can have the Royal Talon Flyer sent here which will have you in the Golden City in less than twenty minutes.” T’Challa offered.

“I didn’t say I would attend, just asking when the next meeting will be held.” M’Baku snorted, noticing how the Panther King’s stern expression softened ever so slightly when he was under the impression that the Jabari Leader would make an appearance. “Also, it wouldn’t be of any convenience for me to ride in one of your vibranium death traps, no matter how much it cuts the journey time. I’ll find my own way if I decide to come.”

T’Challa nodded, hoping that this would mean that M’Baku would be there next week, however he didn’t want to get his hopes up.

“Would you at least write to me to let me know?” T’Challa asked, sounding much more relaxed, now they could finally resolve centuries of unneeded tension and move forward as a united people.

“Sure, Little King, I’ll let you know.” The sarcasm was clear in his tone and it was obvious to T’Challa that he didn’t care. “You may leave now; exit is that way.” He gestured to the door, leaning back in his throne. Bast, did M’Baku grind T’Challa’s gears. T’Challa was never one to believe he was higher than the next person, but he knew he deserved at least mutual respect.

“Thank you for your time.” T’Challa nodded, expression blank as he turned around and left the throne room.

M’Baku watched as the King left and let out a deep sigh. Why in Hanuman’s name was the little king so annoyingly persistent?


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a chapter about Nakia and T'Challa's breakup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yintoni engqondweni yakho- what is on your mind?  
> kuya kuba kuhle- it will be fine  
> Ndiya kulungile- I’m okay

~Two months ago~

It had been a couple days after N’Jadaka funeral and Nakia had asked to speak to T’Challa in the royal garden. Of course he had agreed and smiled at his gorgeous partner and chose not to think about how her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Is everything okay?” He asked, resting his hand on her thigh.

He noticed the way her eyes drifted to his hand and he carefully removed it, choosing to keep his hands to himself. T’Challa couldn’t help the churning feeling in his gut at her demeanour, he could hear her pulse racing although superficially, her expression was neutral.

“Nakia… What is it?” He asked, feeling his own heartbeat start to pick up.

“We need to end things.” She said finally, her voice sounding strong and assured, but he knew it was all part of the Wardog training, it was different on the inside. Nakia couldn’t look him in the eyes and it felt like something snapped in T’Challa. He sat there in silence and the words felt like Thor’s hammer was smashing at his heart until there was nothing left but the pathetic dusty aftermath.

“Why?” Was all T’Challa could get out in that moment. In his mind everything was falling apart, he was destroying the multiple vases around them and begging at Nakia’s feet for redemption. What had he done wrong? With everything that had happened T’Challa had been trying his best to keep their relationship afloat because that was one of the few things he couldn’t take losing. Yet here he was, losing it.

Nakia took a deep breath and spoke simply. “I’m not in love you anymore.” That’s all it took for hot tears to start falling piteously from T’Challa’s eyes. She wasn’t in love with him anymore? How?

“I’m sorry.” She said softly, watching as T’Challa wiped miserably at the unstoppable flow of tears.

“Is there someone else...?” His voice sounded tragic to his ears and he hated it.

“No.” She answered honestly, moving closer to T’Challa and putting her arms around him. It was automatic the way T’Challa wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. Even when she was breaking his heart, the only support he wanted was from her. It was as simple as that, T’Challa just wasn’t _good enough_ for her anymore, she needed _more_ than him. T’Challa wasn’t sure how long he sat with her, but the tears had now stopped and his sad sniffles filled the silence.

“I am sorry, T’Challa. I love you, I’m just not _in love_ with you. You’re my best friend- the sole person I know I can rely on… Which is why I cannot continue this.” She said gently, sounding solemn herself. “I want you to be happy and I am just not the person to give you that.”

T’Challa stayed silent, his mind too overactive and numb at the same time to form a response. He tried to understand, but was coming up short. This was worse than any physical wound he had endured and he didn’t know how to heal it. Then Nakia’s kimoyo beads started flashing and she carefully untangled herself from the king, gently wiping his wet cheeks. It killed her to see him like this, but it had to be done. She couldn’t continue their relationship knowing how she felt or no longer felt about him.

T’Challa was king of Wakanda and the strongest person she knew, she was sure he’d bounce back and come out stronger. “I’m going to be out of the country for a mission, still rounding up the rest of the Wardog that have gone rogue. I’ll be back soon.”

She kissed the top of his head softly and walked away.

She knew their friendship wasn’t over, there was too much history between them and neither of them were willing to let that go to waste.

The rest of the day had been a blur and T’Challa woke up in his bed, vaguely remembering making his way there shortly after Nakia had left. He took off his kimoyo beads and turned them off, it would be dinner soon and he very much planned on not going. He knew it was rude, but he just wanted to be alone. He didn’t want to be bombarded with questions from his family. At ten minutes past seven, he heard a knock on the door.

“Speak.” He said plainly.

“Sorry to disturb you, Wam kumkani, your mother requests your presence at dinner.” Spoke Ayo and the king rubbed his eyes.

“Tell her I will not be present because I am unwell- I also would not like to see the doctor, nor would I like to be disturbed for the rest of the night. Thank you, Ayo.” He replied, letting out a cough to make it more believable even though he knew the Dora would know he was lying.

“Understood, good night.” She confirmed and T’Challa didn’t reply, wishing he could sink into the plush mattress below him and disappear forever. Although the Dora Milaje made themselves scarce when he was with Nakia, he knew they were always listening. He secretly hoped they were so if his mother saw through his lie, they’d fill her in. Sadly, their loyalty was to him first and foremost, so if he said he was sick- he was sick.

After another hour of staring blankly at the ceiling, he turned on his private tablet and searched for his classical music playlist. Too many songs revolved around being in love with someone, he didn’t need that. T’Challa was brought to tears on more than one occasion throughout the night, but at least the music filled the silence. He didn’t get much sleep at all, but he knew it wasn’t going to anyway. He wondered how Nakia felt. Had she cried? Felt as upset as he did? Did she regret her decision? He considered asking for her to take him back, however once Nakia was sure of something, there was no changing that.

The next morning arrived and he showered, read and dressed as usual. The king felt absolutely miserable and his schedule was jam packed, he would barely have a moment for himself, but at least his mind would be busy.

He greeted his family as he sat down, putting on his neutral ‘king face’ as he called it.“Could you please pass a mango?” He asked his sister, ignoring the suspicion on her face as she handed him the fruit.

“Are you feeling better, brother? I heard you were sick. Which is weird because the kimoyo beads would’ve picked up on that, but you turned them off.” Shuri’s voice was casual, but he knew she was onto him.

“I turned my kimoyo beads off yesterday, I started getting a headache and didn’t want it to worsen because of how busy I am today.” He said shortly, just wanting her to drop it. Then of course, his mother had to chime in.

“T’Challa… What’s going on? I raised you, dear. You aren’t sick. Yintoni engqondweni yakho?” Queen Ramonda asked softly, watching as her son cut the mango open.

“She left me.” He mumbled loud enough for them to hear. “She isn’t in love with me anymore.” Saying it aloud made it feel even more real and he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

His mother took his free hand and squeezed his hand gently.“kuya kuba kuhle, T’Challa. Bast will give you strength.” She kissed the back of his hand and he felt his composure start to break.

Shuri took the mango from T’Challa and held his other hand. “It’s okay, brother. We’re here for you, it’s not your fault.”

Shuri was mentally striking off Nakia from any future events they had planned. Bast protect Nakia if Shuri ever caught her in person. How could she hurt her brother like this? Her brother who would literally bend over backwards for her if she asked. T’Challa was unquestionably loyal and loving towards her, did she feel no shame? He had so much love to give and he had given so much of that to Nakia.

T’Challa wiped his eyes with his forearm, shaking his head. “I’m okay, I have a country to mend, I don’t have time to be selfish and lament. Kings don’t do that.” He remembered the times his father would talk to him about keeping his personal matters at bay when he was needed as king.

T’Challa closed his eyes for a moment, burying his thoughts of Nakia and instead flooding his mind with the issues he would need to solve that day. He opened his eyes and released his mother and sister’s hands, giving them a forced smile. “Ndiya kulungile.” He nodded, picking up his mango and beginning to eat it.

~Present~

T’Challa thought back to what M’Baku said, was he really demanding too much? Also what did M’Baku even mean when he said T’Challa had demanded he was kept alive. He had been unconscious, there was no way he would’ve been able to ‘demand’ something... So M’Baku choosing to save him was on M’Baku, not him. Part of him wouldn’t have minded if he hadn’t been rescued at all and he chastised himself for the thought. His family needed him, he couldn’t think such things.

Few things had happened since T’Challa’s summit to the Jabari Land and the day of the meeting was fast approaching. T’Challa still hadn’t received a letter to confirm M’Baku’s presence, but he wasn’t concerned. M’Baku had insinuated that he wasn’t going to attend anyway, so he put that it the back of his mind.

T’Challa tried to ignore the fact he hadn’t he hadn’t spoken to his ex-girlfriend, Nakia, since before she left for her last mission which was about three weeks ago. Due to the high risk of these missions, they hadn’t been able to contact each other which was completely understandable, but he was missing her support. He still loved Nakia greatly, there was no doubt in his mind about that, it just had been hard for them speak due to their conflicting schedules.

Their relationship had been since they were teenagers and they had been best friends even before that. It was a young love that had grown into something deeper than he thought was possible. There was much speculation that they would stay together and T’Challa had often envisioned himself marrying and having children with her. She had been his first everything, and the fact he was now without her, he had never felt so alone in his entire life. He didn’t realise how much of himself he had given until she had taken off with it all and left him barren and empty. The breakup had been the icing on the rotting cake and the timing couldn’t possibly have been worse.

He often played SZA’s song Supermodel and found it ironic how little of an impact this song had when he was in a relationship to how it devastated him now.

**_Why I can’t stay alone just by myself?_ **

**_Wish I was comfortable just by myself_ **

**_But I need you_ **

**_But I need you_ **

**_But I need you_ **

Those lyrics were personal to the king, he felt as though he didn’t know how to be alone anymore. His overall happiness was still at an all-time low. Over the last two months he had thrown himself in his work, surrounding himself in the light of others in hopes over time he would be able to regain who he used to be, he had even found himself striking conversation with random servants he saw around the palace.

Though when he had to be alone the crippling feeling of sadness always crept back onto him. It felt like a heavy weight on his shoulders and that same weight kept him unable to get out of bed in the morning without forcing himself to leave. He barely had any motivation and little made him genuinely happy. His mother had urged he see a therapist, but the king had refused. He didn’t have time for the appointments and he didn’t need a therapist, he needed Nakia.

At least today she would be coming back from her latest mission and T’Challa was excited for the first time in weeks. There was so much to update her on what had happened in Wakanda and T’Challa’s personal life too, even if that was less eventful. They met again in the palace garden, this time T’Challa was the first to be there. He immediately rose and enveloped Nakia in a tight hug, wanting to stay in that position forever. Her soft skin and the way she always smelled of fresh flowers brought comfort to the man. “T’Challa, can we talk?” She asked, and waited to be released before she sat down.

“How have you been?” She asked, noticing the dark circles T’Challa had under his eyes and when he smiled he looked exhausted. Even with the Heart-Shaped Herb in his veins he still looked like he hadn’t slept properly in weeks.

“Fine.” He replied, he was tired of people always asking about his wellbeing- he was fine.

Nakia shook her head. “Don’t lie to me. How have you been handling things? Not as king, as T’Challa.” She took his hand and he looked at his feet. There was no point in keeping up the façade, Nakia had probably heard from the River Tribe Elder how bad things had gotten.

“I don’t sleep much. I barely eat; mother thinks I need to talk to a professional.” He exhaled, looking back up at Nakia and hating how saddened her expression now was.

“Is this because of me? Because if so, I want you to get over me. In the nicest way possible, T. I want you to get over me, or at least start to. I can’t bear to see you like this, your family are worried about you, we all are. You aren’t handling this well and it’s spiralling out of control.” Her voice was kind yet it had concern laced throughout. Had it really gotten that bad? Shuri was always trying to talk to him about his problems, but he couldn’t burden his sixteen-year-old sister like that. He didn’t want to burden anyone over it, especially since this had stemmed from a breakup. He felt like other people had better reasons to feel like this.

“I’ll be okay, please Nakia, believe me. It’ll blow over.” He shook his head, talking about this made him feel uncomfortable. He was king of Wakanda, he didn’t have time to be emotional. He knew how psychologically damaging it was to have that mind-set, but he believed his feelings weren’t a priority for the country, that could come later.

“Promise me you’ll get help.” It was sad to see T’Challa like this, she knew plenty of people in the same mental situation as him and it didn’t always end well. She didn’t want him to go down that path. Okoye herself had to escort Nakia to the gardens and they made sure to meet at a time Shuri would be buried in her lab work. Even though Nakia could take the princess on hand-to-hand combat if it came to it, though who said Shuri hadn’t made something just for when they crossed paths. Nakia felt everyone had every right to be mad at her and she personally blamed herself, she knew she should have handled things better and wished she could go back in time to change it.

“I don’t know; I’ll have to think about it.” T’Challa knew deep down he needed help, his mother had started changing the tea he drank at in the evening to herbal tea to help him relax and sleep better, as well as changing the little food he ate to give him more energy.

The Dora and his servants always had a look of sympathy when speaking to him and he had received an abundance of gifts from the tribe elders over the last couple of weeks. He felt horrible, had he really become a concern? Not to mention his aesthetician always made sure every treatment she and her team gave was revolved around relaxation and T’Challa often found himself falling asleep during his sessions. His doctor had started prescribing him sleeping medication which he took on the nights he really couldn’t sleep along with giving him tips on improving his state of mind. His trainer had started to go easier on him and often had to stop the king when T’Challa became too aggressive during sparring sessions and was causing more harm to himself than to his opponent.

Everyone had adopted the sense that the king was in a fragile state and were all working closely together to help mend him, but he also had to help himself if he was to continue to be an effective king.

After considering all the factors, he nodded. “I’ll do it, for my country and for myself.”

They talked about Nakia’s mission and T’Challa told her about the country’s renovations and his summit to the Jabari Land, but all too soon she had to leave and T’Challa was alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Thanks for the support I've recieved so far, it's super encouraging. (:


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